Torquay United were today named among the Devon companies on a government 'name and shame' list of firms failing to pay the minimum wage. The club says the problem was put right as soon as it came to light.

Some of the largest companies operating in Devon have been listed by the government today or not paying staff the minimum wage. Primark and Sports Direct, who have branches all over the county, have been ordered to make thousands of pounds in repayments by the Government.

The list is regularly released by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. The list of 260 South West businesses includes a number in Devon, and five football clubs.

The list says Torquay United failed to pay a total of £276.40 to two employees. General manager Geoff Harrop said: "Having been made aware of the statement relating to HM Revenue and Customs over a previous period, we must stress this is not connected to Gaming International, current owners of Torquay United Football Club.

"As soon as the breach was identified, the club worked closely with HMRC to ensure those workers affected received the full back-pay, confirming compliance with the regulations. As a result, processes have now been put in place to prevent any such breach occurring in the future.”

More than 250 firms are on the list today

The other football clubs named in today's list are Bristol Rovers, Wolverhampton Wanderers, Falkirk and Motherwell.

They are among businesses told to pay a total of £1.3m to a record 16,000 workers underpaid the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage.

Business Minister Margot James said: "There is no excuse for not paying staff the wages they're entitled to and the government will come down hard on businesses that break the rules.

“That’s why today we are naming hundreds of employers who have been short changing their workers, and to ensure there are consequences for their wallets as well as their reputation, we’ve levied millions in back pay and fines.”

A spokesman for Sports Direct said the fine related to an “historical situation” at its warehouse in Derbyshire.

He added: “This matter relates to the historical situation in our warehouse that was widely publicised in 2016, for which we apologised at the time. We cooperated fully with HMRC to make back payments to Sports Direct staff who were affected.

“We are committed to treating all our people with dignity and respect, and we pay above the National Minimum Wage.”

A Primark spokesman said: “Following a routine audit by HMRC, Primark confirms it has paid a number of its employees in instances where HMRC deemed these employees to have received less than the National Minimum Wage.